It was my 22nd birthday when I found out I was pregnant with my son. It was an unplanned pregnancy but a very welcomed one by my and my then boyfriend, now husband. At the time was 105 lbs and had been since I was 14 years old. I am a skinny person by nature, never dieted or worked out a day in my life. I had a wonderful pregnancy. I consider my self very lucky! No morning sickness, no cravings, not even pain! A few stretch marks appeared here and there but nothing major. I had 15 hour, easy, vaginal delivery. My son was born at a petite 6 lbs 6 oz and 20″. After the pregnancy my small body had changed a lot. My hips were huge and my breasts were saggy and the areolas were huge compared to what they used to be. I was still small but not near the size 3 I was before. I was 130lbs postpartum and never lost a pound the the baby weight. I had no idea where to start. I was ok with it though, I have never been one to care about appearances. March last year I found I was pregnant again. This time with a little girl. Again the pregnancy was perfect. This time however my belly got HUGE. Literally, twice the size it was with my son. The stretch marks got worse and worse and my belly was horribly itchy! I often thought maybe I was pregnant with twins and they just missed one on the ultrasound. My child birth was quick and surprisingly easy considering my daughter was born at 8 lbs 14 oz and 22.5″ Almost 3 lbs and 2.5″ bigger then my first child. My belly now is drastically different then after my first child. When I got those first stretch marks with my son I was bummed, thought they were terrible, but I got over it. What happened to me after my daughter is so much worse, but I didn’t even think twice about it. I gave birth to two wonderful, healthy children which I adore with all my heart. My body looks the way it does because of the gift of life I gave to my two children. We are undecided if we want more children, but if we don’t I am considering becoming a gestational surrogate because I love pregnancy and the gift of a child more then anything in the world.
*the first picture is me at 19 years old, no babies. The second photo is 6 months postpartum after my first child. The 3rd is me 39 weeks pregnant with my second child. The 4th is my belly a month postpartum and the 5th is me now, 5 months postpartum.*
You look great!! Its funny cause I was the opposite of you. My son was born very small and my body was riddled with stretch marks. With my 2nd pregnancy my daughter was 2 pounds heavier than my son and I didn’t get a single stretch marks. Its amazing how different our own bodies can morf with each change. Despite it all; you are beautiful and look amazing.
Thank you for sharing your story. It reflects the story of so many mothers! You are a beautiful woman!!! And so blessed to have two beautiful children, too!
You look and sound exactly like me – boyfriend and I pregnant at 22, later married and had 2 more children, each one marking my belly more to be what it is today, looks exactly like yours. I love your confidence and exuberance, your acceptance without question of your physical image and the amazing awesome-ness of childbirth. It is the most incredible journey, and the most important, what else is more important? Happy day!
I love how you have the before picture too- so we can really see the journey you’ve been through.
Thanks for sharing!